Thiruvananthapuram: The state government on Wednesday decided to set up a transit home in Alappuzha to house foreign women and children.

The proposed facility would be opened in the building of the Care Home for Disabled Children currently functioning there, a CMO statement said. The decision was made in this regard at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The suggested transit homes are for foreign nationals who enter the country illegally, those who have overstayed their visas or passports, individuals who have finished their prison sentences and are on parole, and those needing protection from incarceration, the statement added.

The Cabinet also approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) from the Konkan Rail Corporation Limited (KRCL) for building an underground railway line that will link Vizhinjam Port to Balaramapuram Railway Station.

The administrative approval was sanctioned for the Rs 1482.92 crore-worth project, the statement said, adding that the proposed railway track is envisaged to be made operational before December 2028.

Among various other things, the Cabinet also decided to give financial relief of Rs two lakh each to the parents of three children who had drowned in the Peechi reservoir on January 12. The fourth girl, who had a narrow escape and left the hospital after treatment, would be given Rs 1 lakh from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

The Cabinet meeting also decided to hold the LDF government's fourth-anniversary celebrations in April and May. Extensive programmes would be organised from the local self-government to the district and state levels to mark the occasion.

CM Vijayan would take part in programmes to be held in all districts, the statement said, adding that his programme are scheduled to begin from April 21 in Kasaragod and conclude on May 21 here.